A substantial part of the information we acquire about our society are products of the news media. Therefore, the priorities done in the making of journalism are of importance to how we perceive the society, its challenges and opportunities. Social media have accomodated journalism with a new arena for dissemination, debate and reading. The number of shares an article receives in social media provide editors and journalists with knowledge of how engaging it is to their audience. This paper examines how social sharing of news content influence the work of Norwegian commentators. The area of interest is studied through analysis of the most shared commentaries in Norway in 2013 and by interviews with commentators in the newspapers Aftenposten, VG, Dagbladet and Stavanger Aftenblad. The research show that commentaries with high emotional appeal, with commentator's description of personal experiences, and topics such as health and media criticism dominate among the most shared commentaries in 2013. Other key findings suggest that by taking the sharing numbers in consideration, journalism is transferring parts of its power as gatekeeper to the audience, and that shareability function as a news criterion.